There is a growing interest and availability of resources for those who want their literature to come in different forms, and for those who want to interact a bit more.
Those of us who are a bit more old fashioned have always reckoned that the alternative ends to stories we have read were quite real, there in your head. But for those who want these ideas to pop out of your head and onto the page – or at least onto the screen – then there are various ways in which this might happen. Equally, expanding on minor characters in a story, or placing these minor characters in a story all of there own, or even inventing new characters to go into a narrative has always been possible, but now can be more easily shared – online.
Perhaps a character in a story can ‘come alive’ in other ways than simply by reading the words. The character can appear in a brief video, for example, or in a scene from the story as a podcast. For some students this can be the spark that takes them into the story and leads them from the screen to the page. In this way both digital and text forms can combine to give the student access to the narrative. Combine all of the events above – multimedia with characters ‘talking’ to us, alternative endings plus development of secondary characters - and we find ourselves with quite a powerful concoction to take into the classroom.
Online resources
One of the pioneers of the interactive story is the major publisher Penguin Books. Their ‘Spinechillers’ website is designed especially for the young reader to indulge in a variety of activities, with the ultimate aim of picking up a book and reading it! Harper Collins books for children is also a useful resource.
Your sources
As more and more publishers and educational publishers explore the new media potential, more resources become available. If you come across any such resources that you think ought to be shared then add a comment below!
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